Eighty Years
It was on this date, July 14, 1942, that this radio station first came on the air. That’s eight full decades, and today marks the official start of our 80th anniversary commemoration. We’ll talk a lot about it on the air today, we’ll have you join us for a celebratory community picnic a week from Saturday…and more as the weeks and months of this anniversary year roll along.
I have been here for more than 8 years…some days it seems like 80, of course…but that’s only 10 percent of the long history of KXEL. I started in radio as a high school student 42 years ago, and while the control room of the studio today looks nothing like it did when I started…or when KXEL started…the main purpose remains the same.
Simply put, it’s to provide you, the audience, with content that doesn’t waste your time. The connection between the audience and those of us on the radio is quite unique…far different than your connection with folks you see on TV, or whose bylines you read in the newspaper. Perhaps it’s because radio goes with you wherever you go…at home, in the garage, in the car, with headphones…and it’s conversational, like having someone with you at all times. That remains true whether you listen on the original AM station, our newer FM translator, on a computer, with a smart speaker, with a smart phone…or whatever else is out there. We’re the voice connecting with you on your terms, wherever you are.
The Federal Communications Commission licenses radio stations in this country, and the standard we are sworn to meet is to broadly act in the public interest, convenience and necessity. Those words haven’t changed since the first Radio Act in 1927…how they’ve been interpreted over time have changed, of course, depending on what’s going on in the world and with technology.
Think of someone you know who’s 80 years old, and of all the world and local events they’ve experienced, the changes in society and technology, the dynamics of family and faith…so much change in such a relatively short time. And this radio station has been there to help you make sense of it all.
We’re so appreciative that you have put your trust in us, and we’ll continue in everything we do to try to live up to that. And in that way, today’s KXEL is no different than the one that first took to the air 80 years ago today.
